Up for Discussion?
Ah, it's a beautiful Spring day in Providence, Rhode Island! I think we may have turned a corner in having cold and chilly weather. Even if we did, it's not snow so hooray for even gloomy days in April. So I sit here with all the windows wide open with fresh air pouring into my abode. I'm also sitting here reflecting on life in general and one thing keeps popping up from last semester so here I go...
Last semester in my classes I'm learning about theories...alot of them. Now, I'm not one who leans towards anything theoretical, philosophical or theological. I'm a senser ("S") based on my MBTI which means I rely on my senses to take in information. Thus it takes me a bit longer to "get" the big picture although I definitely keep it in mind when it comes to my life choices.
In one class, we were learning about CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and the premise is that if you change what you think about something, emotions and behavior should follow. Most of the time I believe this is true because they way we interpret our circumstances can and often do affect our feelings and our behavior.
At the same time I question the utility of CBT when it comes to clients who experience being marginalized due to race, gender, sexual orientation and so on. For example i grew up in White Jewish neighborhood and in so many ways I identify myself culturally Jewish and White. Yet my own belief about myself doesn't remove the reality that others see me as Asian, which often leads to stereotyping both negative and positive. As hard as I try to believe in my own cultural Whiteness, my ethnicity/race as defined in the United States will always be Asian, and not even Asian American as my Asian-ness is often perceived as foreign. So if I was seeing a counselor about my real experiences of racism and feeling invisible as the Model Minority then I was told that all I needed to do was change my thoughts (cognitions) about them, such counsel would be condescending and add to the on-going microagressions in my life.
So, back to this class, I raised this point with the professor whose response was, "Maybe CBT is not for you." Um, what? I wasn't asking whether a theoretical orientation was best for me or not, I was asking a question about its validity in a cross-cultural context. All I can say that I was really disappointed by the response. At the same time I wonder if the professor simply didn't know what to say, which begs the on-going question and reality of cultural competence of faculty who is supposed to be infusing diversity and social justice in every class.
Clearly we have aways to go...
Last semester in my classes I'm learning about theories...alot of them. Now, I'm not one who leans towards anything theoretical, philosophical or theological. I'm a senser ("S") based on my MBTI which means I rely on my senses to take in information. Thus it takes me a bit longer to "get" the big picture although I definitely keep it in mind when it comes to my life choices.
In one class, we were learning about CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and the premise is that if you change what you think about something, emotions and behavior should follow. Most of the time I believe this is true because they way we interpret our circumstances can and often do affect our feelings and our behavior.
At the same time I question the utility of CBT when it comes to clients who experience being marginalized due to race, gender, sexual orientation and so on. For example i grew up in White Jewish neighborhood and in so many ways I identify myself culturally Jewish and White. Yet my own belief about myself doesn't remove the reality that others see me as Asian, which often leads to stereotyping both negative and positive. As hard as I try to believe in my own cultural Whiteness, my ethnicity/race as defined in the United States will always be Asian, and not even Asian American as my Asian-ness is often perceived as foreign. So if I was seeing a counselor about my real experiences of racism and feeling invisible as the Model Minority then I was told that all I needed to do was change my thoughts (cognitions) about them, such counsel would be condescending and add to the on-going microagressions in my life.
So, back to this class, I raised this point with the professor whose response was, "Maybe CBT is not for you." Um, what? I wasn't asking whether a theoretical orientation was best for me or not, I was asking a question about its validity in a cross-cultural context. All I can say that I was really disappointed by the response. At the same time I wonder if the professor simply didn't know what to say, which begs the on-going question and reality of cultural competence of faculty who is supposed to be infusing diversity and social justice in every class.
Clearly we have aways to go...
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